Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top
A woman gets her Covid-19 jab at the Secretariat Community Central Mosque, Alausa, Ikeja in Lagos

World

US ships 5 mln Covid vaccine doses to Egypt, Nigeria

Washington (AFP), Feb 18 – The United States on Thursday shipped nearly 5.2 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to Egypt and Nigeria, a White House official told AFP.

The shipments were the latest in a global campaign of donations from the United States. More than 400 million shots have already been dispatched from a target of 1.1 billion.

The official, who asked not to be named, said that 2,999,880 Pfizer doses were heading to Nigeria and 2,158,650 doses to Egypt. The shipments, which left Thursday and were due to arrive by Monday, went through Covax, the global distribution initiative co-led with public-private partnership Gavi.

The United States and other countries producing vaccines against the pandemic have been criticized for not doing enough to blunt the virus’ global spread, while trying to get their own populations fully vaccinated and boosted.

However, the official said President Joe Biden’s “administration understands that putting an end to this pandemic requires eliminating it around the world.”

Washington is “leading the world in a global vaccine strategy because it’s the right thing to do. It’s the right thing morally, the right thing from a global public health perspective, and right for our collective security and well-being.”

According to Johns Hopkins University, just under 29 percent of Egypt’s population is fully vaccinated. The coronavirus has killed an estimated 23,519 people there.

In Nigeria, no more than 2.7 percent of the population is fully vaccinated, according to JHU. Only 3,141 deaths have been reported.

In December, Nigerian authorities destroyed more than a million donated doses of the AstaZeneca vaccine after they expired. The government said the doses had been delivered shortly before the end of their shelf life, which is relatively short for AstraZeneca.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

The White House official said that for the Pfizer donations, “scientific teams and legal and regulatory authorities from both countries have worked together to ensure the prompt delivery of safe and effective vaccine lots to Egypt and Nigeria.”

About The Author

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News

CHINA DAILY

Holden, along with the association's strategic adviser, Kenneth Quinn, and its executive director, Min Fan, were among a group of "old friends" invited to...

CHINA DAILY

During the COP28 climate change conference late last year, Xie, 74, attended a private gathering for Kerry's 80th birthday.

Top stories

He slammed a claim that he could not recollect when his son died, saying: "How the hell dare he raise that?"

Africa

Following their meeting at the Pentagon on Wednesday, Duale, who commenced his four-day visit to the US on February 4, disclosed that discussions primarily...

CHINA DAILY

This has sent positive signals to market watchers, said the experts, who also expected the two countries to deepen cooperation in areas including macroeconomic...

KENYA US RELATIONS

The grant, supported under USTDA’s Global Procurement Initiative (GPI), will advance the development of high-quality, sustainable infrastructure.

NATIONAL NEWS

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 30 – A Kenyan fugitive wanted by the authorities in the United States in connection with the killing of his girlfriend...

NATIONAL NEWS

NAIVASHA, Kenya, Jan 17 – Egypt is a country of many marvels; one largely known for its ancient pyramids. And with only one year-round...